"We are thinking about a new business structure," said Iwata in a press conference attended by Bloomberg.

"Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It's not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone."

Iwata was reacting to revised Wii U sales targets of 2.8 million, down from the original target of 9m.

"We cannot continue a business without winning," he continued.

"We must take a sceptical approach whether we can still simply make game players, offer them in the same way as in the past for 20,000 yen or 30,000 yen, and sell titles for a couple of thousand yen each."